Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Parmesan Sables

The idea for these Parmesan and Herbes de Provence Sables has been floating around in my head for a while. Initially they started as just simple Parmesan Sables but I found they needed something else to really make them sing. I thought of mustard or chives and various other herbs but then I remembered I had this in the pantry.

In this particular mix you'll find a blend of of bay leaves, basil, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme cloves, savoury, white pepper, coriander and lavender - and it is the addition of lavender that gives it such an evocative aroma. You can easily substitute your own home made version made with a mix of the same herbs.

This is quite a cross country nibble - the sable from Brittany, the herbs from Provence and the parmesan from Italy and they all come together in a kitchen in Melbourne.

Place the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the grated parmesan and pulse again to distribute it.

Sprinkle in the herbes and the egg and pulse once more until a dough forms.

The dough will be soft and a bit sticky, that is fine - turn it out into a bowl and roughly divide it into two portions.

Flour a board and turn out one portion of dough, very gently roll it around the flour and then shape it to form a cylinder.

Wrap the cylinder in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to harden.

Repeat this process with the other portion of dough.

When the dough is firm you can now use. Cut the cylinder into even slices about ½cm thick.

Arrange these slices on baking paper lined trays living a little space around each. Bake in a preheated 160°C oven until golden brown - this should take around 15 minutes.

Let them rest on the trays for a few minutes before moving them onto wire racks to cool.

For such a small package they do carry a lot of flavour. They snap easily and with an initial crisp bite they then develop a slightly chewy texture - there's an excellent flavour of parmesan made a little more interesting by the Herbes de Provence.

There's certainly no need to add a topping or serve with a dip - these are a self contained savoury nibble. A perfect match to any pre-dinner drink or to quell those mid-afternoon hunger pangs.